Pain Factory
('NOTE: this is a very dark story concerning Iron-Maiden, Phobia, Evil and Schadenfreude - taking place in the past (to be determined) ') Prologue Phobia and Iron-Maiden sat looking rather bored as they listened to Oblivion give yet another lesson to the assorted Dark Ones - as masters of the universe they often had to endure such lessons and neither one appreciated it much, Phobia kept drifting off and Iron-Maiden idly played with a small dagger she manifested out of nowhere. Misery, as always, kept her eyes on Oblivion and listened to his every word as Rot did likewise, though she glanced at Misery every now and then as if trying to ensure she did not embaress her "mother". Blight and Enmity both listened to Oblivion and nodded, though they clearly had little clue what was being said - they merely pretended to do so in hopes Oblivion's lesson would be over quicker as a result. After what seemed like an eternity Oblivion finally went quiet and the others departed, none with more haste than Phobia and Iron-Maiden. "..why must we be forced to listen to these "lessons"? we are not children.." Iron-Maiden protested, once out of reach of Oblivion. "To Oblivion we are children.. I have existed as long as fear.. you as long as physical pain.. yet what is that compared to he who existed before life itself?" Phobia replied. "So you approve of these pointless lessons?" Iron-Maiden asked. "Of course not - I am merely stating that as far as Oblivion is concerned we are still young.." Phobia noted. "We are young yet we are not children, in fact I dare say we could run this multiverse better than Oblivion and his sister.." Iron-Maiden retorted. "Hm.. you didn't strike me as a Rogue.." Phobia smirked. "You know fine well I am not, yet I stand by my statement.." Iron-Maiden said. Iron-Maiden and Phobia's discussion was cut short as a large creature manifested before them, resembling in many ways a Gorgon but with a stitched-up face not unlike a scarecrow - green clouds of mist pouring out around the figure. "You may not be able to run the multiverse, yet I could help you to run a smaller-scale organization.. a chance to show Oblivion you are as evolved as you claim to be..". "Hm.. why should we trust you?" Iron-Maiden began. "Are you refusing my offer?" the figure replied. "No.. not exactly.." Iron-Maiden replied in turn, Phobia simply watching the figure with a strange expression. "Well then... let us talk.. elsewhere.." the figure said, the green mist enveloping the entities and spiriting them away.. Chapter 1 - The Unfortunate Ones The scene shifts to several weeks later on the planet Earth with three friends gathering outside a large building, each one carrying a small bronze-colored ticket and waiting as a crowd gathered nearby. "This is kind of weird, like one of those old movies.." one of the youths notes, being tall and skinny. "Yeah well no prize for guessing what inspired this competition, Jake - still.. we get a free tour of this new factory.. that's got to be pretty cool, no?" the second youth replies, being a fairly average girl with red-hair. "You guys do know factories tend to be really dull places? I mean, we don't even really know what they make in this place.." the third youth notes, being slightly overweight. "They are a "multi-purpose" factory and want to give a free tour to a dozen or so people to improve publicity.. no big deal.. see all the crowds? must be working.. plus they have the whole "magic ticket" motto going on to play to the whole "publicity stunt" deal.." the red-haired girl replies. A sixteen-year old girl with small draconic wings and dark skin wanders over and smiles as she holds a ticket in one hand and looks to the factory with expressive eyes that while being crimson red are filled with happiness, like a child who has been given a special gift: keeping a death-grip on the ticket as she bounces ever so slightly, eager to enter the building.. to a girl who lived in a "fairy tale" world even a seemingly dull factory was like a magical adventure waiting to happen and it showed. Following behind the winged girl is a young dragon, walking on two feet much like a person and looking around as he seems a little less sure: "uh, Sangria? this really doesn't seem right.. I think we should head back to Avalon before we get into trouble - again..". Sangria continues to smile as he looks to the dragon and says "relax Murk, sure - this is a little unusual but we could both do with a lttle break from the whole "sword and sorcery" thing.. I'm excited to see what's inside.. Equis never let us see much of Avalon outside the castle or library..". Murk sighs slightly "..I like the library but whatever - if you really want to do this I can't stop you.. though you do know factories are just really big, boring buildings full of machines right? that's kind of what factory means.. it's not going to be that exciting.. Equis only let us go because you kept begging him..". Jake looks over to Sangria and Murk, noting to the other youths "..didn't expect to find aliens here, guess the competition must of expanded to other realities..". "So? It's common practice these days you know - Earth is opening up to the rest of the multiverse.." the red-haired girl replies. "Exactly, plus it means an even wider audience.. simple business tactics.." the slightly overweight youth added. Sangria just went back to bouncing a little on the spot as she looked back to the building and replied to Murk: "..ah, you just don't appreciate a good thing when you see it!". The gates leading to the factory suddenly open and a tall figure dressed in a smart suit steps out, followed by several assistants - the man wears a helmet, as is customary for most factories: the assistants handing out smaller helmets to the gathered crowd: checking each person for a ticket to ensure they are indeed winners. "Welcome, it is a great honor to have you all here today.. if the winners of the golden tickets would please follow me we shall begin the tour of the facility - we are sure you will all have a fun day but safety is of utmost importance so we must ask that everyone stays together as a group.." the tall figure says as he gives a motion, seeming quite eager to move on. "That's.. abrupt.." Jake says, taking a helmet as he moved on. "I'm sure they just want to ensure the tour goes to schedule.." the red-haired girl replies. Sangria on the other hand squeals a little as she puts her helmet on and follows the crowd eagerly, smiling as she pokes Murk a little on the side: "..told you! this is going to be great!". Murk bats at Sangria lightly in response, flicking his tail irritably as he puts his helmet on, somewhat awkwardly - "..yeah, yeah.. I still don't like it..". The tall figure leads the crowd into the main factory building, guiding them through the front entrance and into an impressive hall decked with metallic walls and floors, the sound of machinery humming in the background already apparent as the tall figure and his assistants pause by a large door leading further into the fatcory: waiting for the entire group to enter the hall. Sangria comes to a stop and continues looking around, her eyes full of wonder as she barely contains her excitement - her mind filled with imaginative views on what could lay beyond that door.. even if a part of her knew it was likely to be rather ordinary, as Murk warned her.. yet it was still better than being stuck in the Royal Palace reading dusty old books. Murk followed behind Sangria and was still trying to keep his helmet on, which was proving harder than he had first thought - as the others come to a stop be bumps against Sangria and shakes himself a little, frowning as he hops back and looks around to make sure no one saw his mishap. As the last of the group enters the doors slam shut behind the group, trapping them in the hall as the tall figure stands before the other door - looking to the group as he speaks out: "welcome to the Pain Factory - where you will be at the mercy of the horrors within your mind.. I am sorry to have brought you here under a lie but there was little choice.. now, if you will all be so kind as to follow me..". Instantly the door behind the tall figure burst open to reveal a horrific sight, a vast maze of ancient-looking machines of all shapes and sizes appear before the group - manned by terrifying beasts resembling bald apes dressed in torn straightjackets and having masks resembling China Dolls. The tall figure himself soon transforms, becoming akin to a large skeleton dressed in a smart suit - his helmet becoming a top-hat as he motions to his assistants, who begin to lunge at the group, dragging kicking and screaming victims into the room beyond. "what the hell!?" Jake began, trying to flee but being caught quickly as he kicked and fought with no avail. "Hey! H-help! HELP!" the red-haired girl shrieked as she too was dragged away. "This is nuts! somebody! do something!" the slightly obese youth began, only to fall to the floor as one of the assistants knocked him out with a blow to the head. Murk's eyes grew wide and he tossed his helmet aside as he dived at one of the assistants, trying to bite them in the leg as he growls "..leave them alone you maniacs!". The skeletal figure responds by extending a long tendril of shadow around Murk and pulls the dragon up to face him at eye-level, "..you have all entered the Pain Factory of your own will, albeit under a lie.. I'm afraid you have forfeited your rights as individuals as a result.. you can not fight us now.. so do not waste your strength trying..". Murk growls and slashes at the skeletal figure "dragons don't back down from a fight - especially against kidnapping freaks like you!". The skeletal figure doesn't even flinch as Murk's claws make large scars across his face, keeping the dragon held in the tendril of shadow as he begins to move into the room beyond. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Sangria shouts out, lifting herself off the ground and spreading her wings - as she does so a massive surge of Twilight energy erupts, sufficient to cause the room to shake as her eyes glow bright red, her skin crackling with energy. The skeletal figure actually stops, looking slightly disturbed as he drops Murk at the threshold of the room - turning around "..wait..". However the warning comes too late and before Sangria can react a metallic figure appears behind her, spreading sharp wings that resemble blades and plunging a scorpion-like stinger into Sangria's neck: injecting pure agonizing pain that surges across every fibre of her being like wildfire. Sangria goes rigid for a moment as she jerks, the pain too much for her and she soon collapses on the ground - the energy fading as she passes out from the trauma. Murk struggles to his feet and growls again, this time blowing a stream of black flame at the skeletal figure as he begins to grow in size, his scales becoming darker and thicker as his feet get wider and his claws get sharper and stronger. The skeletal figure looks to the other figure for a moment "..sister.. please.. let's not act like savages.." - however it is too late and the metal figure soon flies over to Murk and plunges her stinger into his neck, injecting him with the same agonizing pain that she had inflicted on Sangria. Murk growls and tries to slash the metallic figure with his claws before he falls over and much like Sangria passes out on the floor, shrinking back to his usual size in the process. The metallic figure simply looks to the skeletal figure as Murk falls to the floor, the dragon's claws scraping across her surface - "Phobia, this is the Pain Factory.. you'd do well to remember that - as far as I am concerned this is my world.. you are my guest..". The skeletal figure sighs slightly, bowing his head as the metallic figure drags Murk and Sangria out of the room and deeper into the factory. "..I was only trying to scare them.. I.. did not want this.." Phobia said quietly to himself as he reluctantly followed. Chapter 2 - The Things We Fear Sangria and Murk awaken to find themselves chained by their wrists and ankles to the side of a massive machine in the centre of a seemingly endless network of ever-more complex and ancient-looking machines: many of which pour out thick, green smog that spreads across the area. Chapter 3 - Rising Malice Chapter 4 - Ghosts In The Machine Chapter 5 - An Alliance of Necessity Chapter 6 - Fight To Survive Chapter 7 - The End Category:Grimdark Category:Sci-Fi Category:Fantasy Category:Supernatural Category:Queen-Misery